A four-year-old boy from Devon who has spent most of his short life battling leukaemia has had his greatest wish come true – he has been a pirate for the day.

David McLean-Thorne, from Holsworthy, was treated to a day out in Brixham where, after arriving by limousine, he practised his sword fighting with the Brixham Buccaneers, enjoyed lunch at Tides restaurant and explored the Golden Hind, a full size replica of 16th century explorer and privateer Sir Francis Drake’s famous ship.

He was in the company of his mum, Danielle Whybrow, stepdad Russell Sharman and eight-year-old stepbrother Connor Sharman.

Danielle, 24, described it as ‘the best day we have shared as a family’.

L-R: Connor and Russell Sharman, David McLean-Thorne and Danielle Whybrow

And hopefully the family will get to enjoy many more fun times together, as David finished his treatment last weekend.

Russell, 35, said: “It’s a fantastic end to his treatment as pirates are his favourite thing. It’s nice to see him getting to be a normal child.”

Danielle added: “It’s a coincidence that this day has happened so soon after he finished his treatment. It’s very much like a new start for us.

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“We want to thank everyone who made this day happen. We have been spoilt with gifts from T-shirts to toys. Make-A-Wish sent him a pirate outfit on Monday and he has worn it as much as possible ever since.”

The day was organised months ago by the Make-A-Wish charity which exists to fulfil the wishes of children with life-limiting conditions. Two representatives from the charity visited David at home after he was referred to them by someone at Derriford Hospital in Plymouth, and he said his wish was to be a pirate for the day.

Danielle first knew there was something wrong with her son when he was seven or eight months old and she noticed lumps on his head which turned out to be swollen lymph nodes.

David was diagnosed with leukaemia in March 2014 when he had a six-week stay in hospital in Bristol.

David McLean-Thorne fulfilling his wish to be a pirate for a day, with his stepbrother Connor Sharman

“I’ve lost count of the number of times he has been in hospital in the last three-and-a-half years,” said Danielle. “He had to go into hospital every time he had a high temperature. Between March and May he was going into hospital every three weeks. He has only spent six months in pre-school as he has been too poorly.

“He had oral chemotherapy every day which made him weak and tired. Once a month he had to have a five-day course of steroids which was awful. He had quite violent mood swings at times and would shout and scream. It was very hard to watch him so drained.

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“He has had minimal interaction with kids his age as he’s been prone to picking up infections so today is a big thing for him. He’s in remission now but they don’t class him as cured until five years later. His immune system will be up to scratch around January and he’ll be able to live as normal a life as possible.”

Danielle added that they had never been to Brixham before but thought it was ‘lovely’ and they would try to return for the port’s pirate festival next year.

David said: “My name is Pirate Dave. My favourite bit of today is being a pirate.”

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Golden Hind owner Neil Worrell said he and his team were happy to help make David’s wish come true. He said: “We’ve all had challenges to deal with this year. It’s great to be able to give something to a small boy who wants to experience a bit of pirate life and help to make his day special.”

Wish granter Dawn Ellis said: “Make-A-Wish UK receives lots of requests for wishes each year – and every wish and each child is unique.

“David’s wish has been great fun to work on as he had such a great idea of what he wanted his wish to be and the way the Brixham Buccaneers community have helped put this wish together has been truly amazing.

“They’ve put a lot of time and thought into the detail and worked with us and our volunteers to make David’s wish come true and create a truly unique and special day. We’d like to thank them for everything they have done.”